YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, MI - The American Center for Mobility is making progress toward opening a testing facility for automated and connected vehicles in Ypsilanti Township by the end of 2017.

AT&T is now the exclusive cellular network provider for The American Center for Mobility through 2020, a partnership announced Wednesday night, Jan. 4, at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

"We're very, very excited," said John Maddox, president and CEO of The Center. "They are leaders in the cellular space for vehicles."

Maddox said AT&T is a company with considerable experience working with auto manufacturers and creating new applications, services and devices for embedded cellular units inside vehicles. Its work at The Center will include some of the following initiatives:

Enhancing network security

Connecting features such as roadways and railroad crossings so vehicles can "talk" with their environment

Testing new LTE and network technologies in the connected and automated vehicle system

"We started talking to a number of larger players, but AT&T quickly became the clear leader because of their coverage among the OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and forward-thinking," Maddox said.

While AT&T users in the area will not notice any changes in service, there could be the possibility of new fiber cables running to the site that Maddox said would offer a "spillover benefit for everyone else."

That decision is still up in the air, as AT&T begins ground work and evaluating the site for signal and network strength.

"From there, we'll work together with them to formulate a plan as well as a schedule," Maddox said.

That schedule would have the cellular network complete by December 2017, when officials with The Center have said the first design phase should be finished and the testing facility operational.

"The American Center for Mobility will provide an environment that will further cross-industry collaboration," said Chris Penrose, President, Internet of Things Solutions at AT&T in a company statement. "Together, we'll pave the way for innovations that change how we think about driving."

It is the first private investment in The Center, Maddox pointed out, in addition to previously awarded state grants and funds.

"We think it will be an attractor for additional private investment," Maddox said.

The 335-acre property previously owned by Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response (RACER) Trust was purchased in November for $1.2 million by Willow Run Arsenal of Democracy Landholdings Limited Partnership, which will lease the property to the American Center for Mobility.

The Center's testing facility design includes a six-lane boulevard, a rural section featuring trees alongside the route, various types of intersections, roundabouts and stoplights to see how the vehicles perform in all types of situations.

It is also in talks with the Michigan Department of Transportation to take over part of U.S. 12 for a high-speed test route. The 2.5-mile loop would feature tunnels and overpasses that would allow engineers to test visuals and weather conditions.

The Center recently awarded a contract to WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, a New York-based engineering services company, in order to develop "a concept of operations, system requirements, and a procurement strategy for the technology elements," according to a company statement.

The company had previously worked on the University of Michigan's own automated and connected vehicle testing facility in Ann Arbor known as Mcity, Maddox said. Its focus will be the virtual portion of the testing facility at The Center.

"We think that we've got a great team that no one else can even come close to matching at this point," Maddox said.

The Center's construction schedule is being finalized, he added, with a goal of starting heavy construction as soon as the weather allows. Some work has already begun on renovating buildings on the site to be reused as maintenance facilities or route features.

"Luckily, so far, we've had somewhat of a mild winter," Maddox said with a laugh. "We're going to get the earliest start we can."

Most of the site remains covered in concrete, a reminder of its previous life as the floor of a parking lot and vehicle manufacturing facility. It will provide a foundation for the streets and boulevards to be constructed for testing the next generation of automobiles.

Just off the property is the future home of the Yankee Air Museum, which will pay homage to Willow Run's past life as a manufacturer of B-24 airplanes during World War II, and will also offer conference space for ACM events.

The Center is currently in talks with a partner who may bring modeling and simulation capabilities to the testing facility, Maddox said, as well as traditional automotive companies that are interested in not only using the site but possibly building their own facilities on the property.